


Rifle Range

by gillianaunofficial



Category: The Fall (TV 2013), The X-Files
Genre: F/F, Pre-X-Files, Young Dana Scully
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:47:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23956339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gillianaunofficial/pseuds/gillianaunofficial
Summary: Possibly a longer fic based on the song “Rifle Range” by Blondie. Set pre X-Files while Scully is an FBI trainee. Stella is older though, so it’s not really canon compliant.
Relationships: Stella Gibson/Dana Scully
Comments: 5
Kudos: 28





	1. At The Rifle Range, I Lost My Heart

The morning air was cold and crisp as Scully got out of the car, her feet kicking up the dust of the car park. She pulled her jacket around her and walked over to the beaten white building of the gun range. She was learning how to shoot, it was part of her training. She checked her watch, 9:00am she was exactly on time, as ever. She entered the building.   
“Hi, Dana.” The man at the desk said, he put his Rolling Stone magazine down, Scully caught the face of Paul Mcartney on it. She frowned.  
“Hey, Mick.” Scully replied, a Monstera plant, it’s leaves browning at the corners, sat on the desk.  
“Someone is already on the range, just a warning, I know you like shooting on your own.”  
“That’s okay.” Scully replied and Mick unlocked the door for her to go through to the outdoor range. She walked down the corridor, it was almost as cold in there as it was outside. To get to the shooting range she had to walk through, essentially a field with some dirt footpaths. The ground was muddy, crusty with slowly melting ice, a few birds tweeted in the distance. Scully wasn’t used to other people being there this early, in fact that was the reason she came at this time of the morning. She sure hoped it wasn’t some douchey guy that would try to pick her up. She opened the gate to the range and saw a blonde woman shooting at one of the targets the woman glanced at her, an eyebrow quirked. Scully stood behind a gun a few stations away, deliberately avoiding the other woman. She picked the gun up and loaded it, concentrating as she tried to aim at the target, she shot and missed, her bullet hitting the wooden frame. She took another shot and again missed. She sighed, this was one of the only things she’d been struggling with during her training. She shot once more and hit the very edge of the canvas. She could feel the other woman watching her. She put the gun down and turned to look at the woman, who was leaning against the wall, her head tilted to the side.  
“What?” Scully said, as she met the woman’s eyes.  
“Do you want some help?” The woman said, stepping closer to Scully, she wore a long black coat, her accent was English.  
“What’s your name?” Scully asked, slightly irritated by the interjection.  
“Stella.” She replied.  
“What exactly would you be helping me do?” Scully said. They still held eye contact and something about Stella’s bright blue eyes made her heart race. She had to admit there was a certain superficial attraction. She tightened her fingers around the grip.  
“Your shots are off target, you need to keep steady, you aren’t going to be on target if your hands are shaking.” Scully raised an eyebrow. She was being called out to the obvious and yet, she would give in to Stella.  
“Show me.” Scully lifted up her gun, and aimed at the target again. Stella stood behind her. Scully shot, trying to at least hit the outer ring of the target she missed, for a third time.  
“You need to aim closer to the middle of the target even if you’re trying to hit the outer ring.” Stella put her hands over Scully’s and Scully shivered at the touch, the heat of Stella’s hands on hers. Stella moved her hands just a little to the left.  
“Keep steady.” Stella said, her breath brushing Scully’s neck, heat rushed to Scully’s lower half.   
“How am I meant to keep steady with you whispering in my ear like that?” Scully said, Stella laughed and stepped back.  
“What’s your name?” Stella asked.  
“Dana. Dana Scully.” She replied, concentrating on keeping herself steady. She pushed on the trigger and shot the bullet, this time she hit the target, getting the outermost ring.  
“Good job, Dana.” Stella said, Scully swallowed, the way she said her name, her accent, her voice, it did things to her. She’d never had a thing for English accents until she’d that very moment.  
“Thank you.” She replied, Stella put her hands back on top of Scully’s.  
“Let’s try and hit the next ring, aim a little further down, closer to the centre, again stay steady.”  
“Okay.” Scully stayed in the position that Stella had put her hands in and shot, it hit the line in between the rings.  
“That’s good.” Stella replied. Scully put her gun down.  
“You’re English, how come you’re over here in the US?” Scully said, her question taking Stella by surprise, she leaned against the corrugated metal border between her and the targets.  
“I’m taking some time off, I don’t want to fall out of practice although we don’t spend that much time shooting people in the UK.”  
“What do you do?”  
“I work for the police. I’ve done so for about 5 years.” Scully licked her lips, Stella was eye catching, she wasn’t wearing makeup and her face was flushed pink from the cold. There was a rawness to her. She was pretty. Very pretty.  
“I’m training to be in the FBI.” Stella looked at her, almost assessing her.  
“How about after this we eat some food, I’d ask you for a drink but it’s a little early for that.” Scully’s heart dropped, she was meant to be going to a demonstration after her shooting.  
“I can’t.” She replied, Stella looked at her.  
“Meet me for a drink, then. At 8, there’s a bar in town, Ryder’s, it’s easy to find, meet me there.” A shot of adrenaline hit Scully, was she being asked on a date by this woman? She was used to men wanting to fuck her but she never accepted their thinly veiled efforts but Stella… Scully actually fancied her.  
“Alright, I’ll be there.” A blush crept across her cheeks, her eyes not meeting Stella’s.  
“Good, let’s see if we can hit the next ring.”

Scully had been anxious to leave for the whole day, yet things kept appearing for her that she had to get done. It was almost 6 when she could finally go home. She showered quickly, blow drying her hair and doing her makeup. She looked through her wardrobe for a dress to wear for Stella but the only one she could find was a green one that was ripped across the side, she’d had it since her senior year of high school. She looked through her skirts and found a leather one she’d forgotten she even owned. She put it on, the hem landed just above her knee. She found a shirt with puffed sleeves that she thought went well with it and put on a pair of knee high black heeled boots. She looked at herself in the mirror. She looked good. She looked sexy. She wasn’t used to looking sexy, or making herself look sexy. She fiddled with her cross necklace, was this too much? Was Stella actually trying to pick her up? Was this all just one big misunderstanding? She shook her head. This was good. Stella was good. She wanted this.

Scully took a taxi to the bar which was only a few blocks away. The driver had been eyeing her in his rear view mirror for the whole journey. The sign was neon blue and stood out in the street, a man in a suit stood smoking outside, he observed Scully as she walked past. His beady eyes gave her the creeps. The interior was lit with red lights, everything tinged with the colour. She looked for Stella and saw her sitting at a table near the back, a glass of fizzing wine in her hand.  
“Hello.” Scully said as she took the seat next to Stella, she set her handbag down under her chair.  
“Hello, Dana.” Stella said, a small smile on her lips. She was wearing makeup unlike that morning, golden shimmery eyeshadow and dark lipstick which contrasted with the otherwise lightness of her looks. “What do you want to drink?”  
“Whatever you’re having. I’m not picky.” Scully replied, looking at Stella’s fingers wrapped around the stem of her wine glass, short nails, painted burgundy.  
“I’m switching to whisky after this. Dry or on the rocks?”  
“On the rocks.” Stella nodded and got up to go to the bar.  
“I’ll pay for my own.” Scully said, reaching for her handbag. Stella shook her head.  
“No, let me.” She said and went to the bar. Scully watched as Stella walked, her hips swaying side to side, a seductive air around her, she seemed to know what she did to people. Her short skirt clung to her ass, cinched her waist, dark stockings exaggerated the curves of her legs. Scully swallowed, ashamed at the amount she was attracted to this woman, she knew all this was, was a little fling, probably not even that. Stella came back with the drinks, finished her wine and started on her whisky. Scully looked at the lipstick stains left on the rims of the glasses.  
“Dana, how old are you?” Stella asked as Scully tried her whisky. It wasn’t something she normally drank. She felt that Stella could tell.  
“Twenty Three, Twenty Four in two weeks.” Stella looked at her, it was as though she were being observed, under a microscope like the dozens of slides Scully had had to inspect. Scully wondered how old Stella was, it was impossible to tell solely by her face.  
“What made you want to join the FBI?” Stella asked, the interest only surprised Scully a little.  
“Oh, well… I wanted to defy my parents, I wanted to help people. I was going to have a career in medicine but I was picked to become a trainee.” Stella licked her lips.  
“You wanted to defy your parents?” Scully smiled and looked down.  
“I was rebellious, I used to steal cigarettes, I pierced my own nose.” Her hand subconsciously touched the scar on her left nostril. Stella lay a hand on Scully’s thigh, Scully bit her lip, making eye contact with Stella, her eyes shining in the red light. A Blondie song played in the bar. Heart Of Glass.  
“What’s your type, Dana?” Scully watched as Stella licked her lips.  
“I’m not sure I have a type…” She listened to the music, and smiled. “But I think, Debbie Harry made me realise I like women.” Stella smiled at that.  
“Blonde hair, blue eyes, older than you?” Scully laughed and Stella took that moment to kiss, slipping her tongue into her mouth, Scully relaxed into her, pushing back against the kiss. Her hand came to Stella’s neck, fingers brushed through her hair.   
“How about you, Stella? Redheads?” Her mouth was mere centimetres away from Stella’s. She kissed her again.  
“Maybe.” Stella said, Scully’s mouth finding her neck.


	2. At The Rifle Range, She Left Me So Hot

They practically fell into Stella’s apartment, Stella’s dark lipstick smeared across Scully’s face and neck. They went through to the bedroom and fell onto the bed, pulling the sheets into disarray, Stella leaving what would become a hickey on Scully’s collarbone. Scully grabbed Stella’s ass, palming the soft skin through her skirt. Stella began to unbutton Scully’s shirt, leaving more kisses and nibbles as she went, she unclasped her bra and threw it to the floor. She cupped Scully’s boob with her hand and sucked her nipple between her lips, her tongue feeling the rose coloured skin. Scully’s hands went to the buttons on Stella’s shirt, but struggled to get a grip of them. Stella's mouth was on the underside of her boob, making another hickey. Scully had never felt anything as good as Stella on top of her aside from her own hand.

“Fuck me, Stella.” She said, finally opening Stella’s shirt, a hand grasped her back, feeling her pulsing muscles. Stella took her mouth away from Scully’s boobs. She wore a black lace bra and Scully touched her tits through it, they were bigger than hers, they filled her hand, a soft weight. She stroked Stella’s nipples, feeling the nubs hardening from her touch. The feeling of the material rubbing her nipples overwhelmed Stella. She pushed Scully down against the bed and unzipped her skirt, the leather rough against her fingers. She slipped her hand under the waistband of Scully’s panties feeling the dampness on both her hair and the panties. Scully gasped at the feeling of Stella. She took her hand away and removed the panties. She kissed the soft skin on Scully’s stomach, she could smell her arousal from there. Scully’s hand twisted in the sheets, her want for Stella excruciating.

“Please, touch me.” She moaned, her eyes were wide, makeup smudged. Stella smiled, and put her hand back her fingers circled Scully’s clit, she was already so wet and Stella had barely even touched her.

“I liked your skirt.” She said as she fingered her. “You looked so hot, I didn’t know if you were going to turn up.” Her voice was low, and her breath brushed Scully’s skin giving her goosebumps. There was no way Scully wouldn’t have turned up for Stella.

“Of course I did, Stella, fuck!” She broke as Stella slipped a finger inside of her. She leaned over Scully and took her pert nipple back into her mouth. Scully shoved her head back into Stella’s pillows. She slipped a second finger inside her and Scully grinded against her hand, trying to get as much skin contact as possible. Stella went down again and brought her mouth almost to Scully’s pussy, her nose skimmed Scully’s hair. Scully’s heartbeat rose more, she could almost feel herself sweating. It was so hot. She’d never had anyone like this before.

“Is this okay?” She asked, it was. It was more okay than anything anyone had ever done to her.

“Yes, fuck, Stella, please.” Stella kissed the inside of her thighs, her tongue tickling Scully’s labia before bringing her mouth to her clit, sucking and licking until Scully was falling apart around her. She brought her fingers back and pushed into Scully. She could have yelled out but pushed her exclamation down. Her breaths quickened though and she could see stars blooming behind her eyelids. Stella could feel her clenching around her fingers, one last lick and Scully came. She reached out for Stella. Stella sat up and looked at Scully, her flushed face, dishevelled hair and the marks she’d left. Scully stared back into her eyes, a storm raged in some form behind each of their pairs of eyes. Scully was beautiful. Stella hadn’t really taken it in until that moment, of course when she’d asked her out she’d noticed she was pretty but… In that moment, she could see Scully’s true visceral beauty. Her chest tightened. No, that wasn’t going to happen tonight. She leaned down and kissed Scully, her lips softer than Stella’s own. When she broke away, she stroked her cheek, circling the dusting of freckles showing through her powder. She smiled and Scully smiled back, reaching out for Stella’s waist. She still wore a skirt. Stella needed to go, just for a few moments, she wasn’t the type not to want reciprocation but something about Scully had hit her, in what way she wasn’t sure. She didn’t feel quite right. She stood up and could feel Scully’s eyes digging into her, the new silence staggering.

The fluorescent bathroom light hummed. The faucet dripped and Stella gripped the edge of the sink. The hand mirror on the small cabinet catching her at a strange angle, distorting her features. The cupboard mirror reflected her true face. She looked at herself, her brow furrowed. Small wrinkles crossing her face. Her lip sucked inside her mouth. She was still shirtless, her push-up bra probably a little too tight, a sudden bolt of self hatred caught her in the chest. She shook her head and turned the tap on, she took a face cloth and wet it, mopping her face, careful not to smear her makeup. She swallowed and took another look at herself. She felt old. She felt vain. She felt bad for picking up Scully, Christ, she was almost twenty years younger than her. Or maybe it wasn’t that. She’d done that before and felt no guilt. There was something else there, a nagging feeling that she couldn’t quite pick out. She looked at the bath, a small black spider clung to the side. She couldn’t be bothered to get rid of it, wash it away with shower head or capture it to throw it out her window. Either way it would probably die. She would just leave it for now. Get rid of it later if it hadn’t already gone. She turned away, walked away, switched the light off, leaving the spider in darkness.

Scully lay on the bed, her hands laced over her stomach.

“Hi.” She said as Stella sat down next to her naked body.

“Hi, Dana.” She replied and Scully reached out for her again, hands catching the zip on Stella’s short skirt. Stella didn’t object, she let Scully unzip it and pull her closer to her. Scully’s fingers felt the thin material of Stella’s stockings. She new Stella didn’t feel right, but she felt it was none of her business if Stella was okay with this she didn’t need to know what was going on. Small white lines, scars, covered Stella’s upper thighs. She ignored them. She touched Stella’s ass, her hand going under her panties, the skin there was slightly bevelled, cellulite. Scully didn’t care. She squeezed her ass and began to take off her stockings but Stella did it for her so they wouldn’t get laddered. She took her panties off as well. She leans down to Scully’s ear, sucking her earlobe between her lips, bringing herself back into the swing of things.

“What do you want to do to me?” She whispered, her voice low, sultry. Stella didn’t normally go for this stuff but tonight… Tonight was different.

“I want to touch you.”

“Mhm?” Stella said, rubbing herself against Scully’s thigh.

“I want to fuck you.” She said, this wasn’t something she’d done before but she had to admit the idea excited her.

“How do you want to fuck me?” Stella said, kissing Scully’s neck.

“I want you to sit on my face.” Scully said, her own voice lowering. Her hands gripped Stella’s waist. “I want to eat you out until you come on my face.” Stella lifted herself from her thigh and flipped around, bringing herself down on Scully’s face. Scully had never done oral on a woman. She licked her, swirling her tongue through her folds.

“Oh…” Stella moaned as she flicked her tongue. “That’s good, fuck, Dana.” She let a little more of her wait sink down. Just the sound of Scully’s tongue against her made her shiver. God she was good. Scully thrusted her tongue into Stella curling against her insides. She felt Stella contracting around her. She was already almost done. Stella rode her face, feeling the curve of Scully’s nose against the big of skin between her pussy and her ass. Scully quickened her tongue and Stella came, squirting, all over Scully’s face. She climbed off of Scully. That had been a mutually out of character experience. She lay down, kissed Scully, tasting herself on her lips and face. They lay, profile to profile, watching every movement of each other’s faces. The neon lights of the city bled into the bedroom through Stella’s thin blinds. Blues and reds. Colours that carried meaning with them. The only sounds, their shallow breaths and the cars out on the streets. Washington DC in the 1990s. Sweet, urban Americana. Stella thought of the spider in her bathtub, the insignificance of it, how small it was in the scheme of everything. It would crawl back down the drain, continue it’s life until it died, crushed by the next person whose drain it crawled up from.


	3. Strange Phenomena

When Stella awoke Scully had gone. Daylight lit up the room and Stella got up. She stumbled through to the bathroom, a headache had crept up on her as she slept. The same spider still sat in the bathtub, it’s long, hairy legs unmoving. Stella shook her head and opened the bathroom cabinet. She grabbed a Tylenol and downed it with a glass of water. Saturday. She was running out of toothpaste, that’s what she would do today. Grocery shopping. She ran a hand through her hair. Slick. Greasy. Before she shopped she would swim.

The pool was unusually quiet, a group of kids, around the age of ten, Stella guessed, played in the shallow end of the pool. Stella picked a lane and got in, the coolness of the water shocking her body as she fully submerged herself. The sounds of the kids muffled as she swam, the disruption of the water as she turned her head to the side for each breath. The movement of her limbs synchronised, rhythmic all building to one single movement, the push of her body forward, closer to the opposite wall before pivoting to swim back the way she came. There was calmness in such vigorous moving, it wasn’t like jogging or cycling. With those you have to be aware of the outside world. In the pool Stella could be completely at peace. Yet today there was still a feeling she couldn’t shake off as she swam, the feeling of lips on her body and the cool metal of a gun in between her and Scully’s hands.

When Stella got out of the pool almost an hour had passed, her fingertips wrinkled and her eyes stinging from the water that had seeped through her goggles. She walked along the tiled floor, shivering from the chilly air.  
“Hey!” A man’s voice yelled and Stella could hear his feet slapping against the blue tile. She turned to look behind her. A man, about 25 stood before her, one of the lifeguards, Stella could see his nipples poking against his thin polo shirt.  
“Yes?” She crossed her arms over her chest, her shoulders tensing as the man began to speak.  
“Do you want to meet up later, for a drink or something? I get off at five.” He rubbed his stubbled cheek with his left hand. Stella’s stomach turned.  
“No, I wouldn’t like to.” She said, the man frowned.  
“Another time?” Stella sighed.  
“Shouldn’t you be watching the pool? Isn’t that what you’re getting paid for? Not trying to pick up women?” The man blushed and Stella left him standing there. She pushed on the door to the changing rooms. Someone had been standing behind the door and it slapped them in the face as Stella opened it.  
“Shit!” A woman buckled to the ground, a hand clenched to her nose, blood seeping down her chin. She met Stella’s eyes and frowned.  
“Dana?” Stella asked, lowering herself to the floor next to Scully, she nodded.  
“Come on.” Stella gave her a hand and Scully took it, heaving her body up. “Are you alright?” Stella took her over to a bench and sat her down. Scully clenched her eyes shut, droplets of blood falling onto her chest. Stella went to the bathroom to grab some tissues. Wasn’t it strange? She thought, what an odd coincidence, when she hadn’t been able to push the name Dana Scully from her mind and here she is again, and she’d given her a bloody nose bleed of all things. Scully’s nose hadn’t stopped bleeding and she handed her the toilet paper. Scully brought it to her face, the white being stained soggy red. Stella put an arm around her, her own skin body and costume damp against Scully. She stroked her back, playing with the blue straps of her swimming costume.

Scully awoke early, maybe 5am she thought, Stella’s naked body next to her for the second night in a row. Purplish bruises blooming across her shoulders. Marks that Scully had left. She ran a hand through her hair, her neck tensing as she did so. She hadn’t really looked at Stella’s room the night before, all she’d noticed was Stella. Stella’s body. Stella’s lips. The taste of Stella’s pussy under her tongue. Now she was noticing the rest of the room. A blue silk robe hung in the open wardrobe, clothes and shoes discarded on the floor. A lamp with a chinese lampshade embroidered with golden dragons. Tubs of anti-aging creams and serums on Stella’s dressing table. The mirror had a long crack down the middle, fracturing the reflection of the room. Scully wondered what had happened. The bed smelt like sex and sweat and Stella’s perfume. What was she doing? Stella was older than her, quite a lot older than her. Daniel Waterston has been a mistake that she hadn’t wanted to repeat. This felt different though. Stella wasn’t the type to move across the country just to see her. Stella wasn’t like that at all. Perhaps all this would be was a couple of nights together and only that. There was something else though, something deeper, fate had brought them together at the swimming pool. A strange coincidence in date and timing. Wasn’t meeting anyone you know a strange coincidence? What aligns in the universe to put the two of you in the same place at the same time? Someone you’ve met just the other day or haven’t seen in years? What makes that happen? Scully slipped back into sleep, those thoughts hanging in her mind. Dreams of Daniel Waterston plagued her sleep.

As Scully left that morning she’d written her phone number down for Stella. The numbers curled and looped in her handwriting. It was something so personal, so unique. The way someone takes a pen to paper. Stella looked at the numbers, looked at the name Dana scrawled underneath, the base of the D dipping below the lines in the paper. As she picked it up the edge snagged on her finger, a small scarlet gash appearing on her skin. Stella swore and stuck the paper to the notice board with a thumbtack. She rinsed the paper cut and looked out of the kitchen window. A woman in a tan jacket walked along the street, her hair blowing around her head in the wind, a pink bag in her hand. On Wednesday it would be Valentine’s Day. Just another holiday Stella would barely take notice of, yet another day in the never ending years of nothingness. Time passed by in work shifts and weekends. Stella hadn’t had that since she’d stopped working. That’s what she’d done, she wasn’t truly on a break she’d up and left, her mother had left the money she had to Stella despite haven not spoken to her in nearly ten years. She’d needed to go, get out of England. At least for a little while, but that little while had turned into over a year. Here she was, Stella Gibson, jobless in a country where she’d made no true connections. Perhaps she would look for a job. Anything to interrupt the infinite number of barren days. She still hadn’t shopped, she was still running low on toothpaste and now running low on food. Her kitchen bin was overflowing, empty yogurt tubs and crumpled packets of crisps or “chips” as they would call them in D.C. Something and clicked and Stella knew she needed to start bringing herself together again. She was being childish. Silly. The skin on her legs tingled and she dug her nails into her palms. Not today. She wouldn’t give into that now.


	4. And While I’m In This Body I Want Somebody To Want And I Want What I Want

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I wrote the sex part of this barely awake and talking abt pussy juice so that’s why it’s not top quality.

Scully ran, her feet beating a steady rhythm down the empty pavement. It was 6:30 in the morning and almost pitch black outside. The tall street lights led her through the city. Headlights of occasional cars caught her figure and casted distorted shadows of her body. Her lungs burned. She yearned to stop but knew she had to keep going. She had to keep up with her training schedule. She’d missed swimming after being smacked in the face with a door. Maybe sex was adequate exercise? She almost laughed at her own thoughts. She truly did have to keep her schedule up though, she couldn’t be getting distracted even less so by another woman. Another thought. If she was so concerned with that why had she left her number on that other woman’s kitchen table? Scully sped up, her breaths quickening and condensing into grey clouds as they left her mouth. Stella’s hands. Stella’s mouth. Stella. Only Stella. Fuck. Her foot caught on an uneven paving slab. She tripped and fell onto the pavement, her hands scraped across the stone. She felt the blood coming to the surface before she saw it. She walked home.

“What happened to you, Scully?” Todd Parker handed her a paper cup of coffee, she panicked to put it down, the hot contents almost burning her hand. Scully sighed. Today was rapidly going downhill.  
“I tripped when I was jogging.” The scrapes on her hands were red and raw despite having been cleaned. She’d hurt her ankle as well and had had to opt out of wearing any sort of heel that day, her trainers lessening her height even further.  
“You look rough, is everything alright?” Scully looked at the clock on the wall, it’s hands moving ever slowly. Half an hour until her lunch break was over.  
“Parker, I’m fine. Just tired.” A fly buzzed near the bug zapper, straying ever closer to the blue light.  
“You sure don’t look fine.” She took a sip of her coffee, it burned her tongue and tasted like dirt. The fly sizzled as it hit the zapper, it’s small black body dropping into the trash can below the device.  
“You know, I don’t really have the time or energy for this conversation today. I’m not having the best day and now I have you on my back.” Scully tapped her nails against the table. Parker looked at her, ran a hand through his hair and began to speak. She wouldn’t normally snap at anyone but the fog in her brain and her stiff muscles were pushing her usual boundaries to the side.   
“Scully, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m worried about you. You don’t look great, you’ve come into the office with your hands all scraped up and you’re limping. You’re overworking yourself, I know you really care about this work and your training but it’s just not healthy to be doing this. I care about you, Dana, believe it or not. I think you’re a really great person and I just want to make sure you’re okay.” Scully grimaced.  
“You sound like you’re trying to get me to go out with you.” Parker’s face fell, he really was nice looking but she wasn’t interested.  
“Would you want to go out with me if I asked you?” Parker asked, his words coming out hoarse.  
“Look, Parker, you’re a really nice guy but I don’t want to go out with anyone that I work with and anyway, I’m seeing someone.” Shit. She hadn’t meant to say that, she felt blood rush to her cheeks, now she’d done it. With every word she said she was bringing more and more of a shitstorm.  
“Who?” Parker asked, his brow furrowed. Scully’s breath caught in her throat.  
“Sh- He’s no one you’d know.”  
“Oh.” Scully drank her coffee and watched the minutes tick by on the clock as Parker watched the hands on his Rolex. The tension in the air was excruciating.   
“Well, I better be going, I need to go to the restroom. See you later, Scully.” Parker left the room, the hem of his suit jacket catching in the door. She couldn’t believe she’d said she was seeing someone. Was she actually going crazy? Was Stella driving her insane?

She’d caught her reflection in the bathroom mirror later that day and realised what Parker had meant. She looked exhausted, her eyes were bloodshot and her dark circles showed through her powder. She looked almost ill. She’d forgotten to brush her hair when she’d been getting ready that morning. Her nails were bitten short, she hadn’t even noticed she’d been biting her nails. Her mind had been in a fog since the morning she’d met Stella. Parker was right. She was overworking herself. She was always so driven to succeed, sometimes it took over her life. 

Stella looked at the tray of green peppers, their skin shining in the supermarket lighting. She picked one up, pretended to inspect it and added it to her trolley. She didn’t really know what she was looking for, just that she needed food in some capacity. She picked up a loaf of white bread, contemplated it and picked wholemeal instead. She should cook something. She liked cooking. It had been a while since she’d made anything. She didn’t have the energy to do something like that just for her. The most she would do for herself was buy a bottle of wine and have a nice long bubble bath.  
“Stella?” A voice peaked her attention, she turned and saw a woman coming towards her.  
“Josie, hello.” She’d slept with her, a few times, until Josie had “found herself a man” and had stopped seeing Stella. Her stomach curved outwards, Stella looked at her.  
“It’s been so long! Johnny got me pregnant.” Stella forced a smile. It really hadn’t been that long.  
“Yes, I see. How far along are you?” Stella attempted conversation, her hand clasped around a bag of pasta.  
“Almost 6 months!” Maybe it had been a long time since she’d last seen Josie. She knew what that woman looked like stark naked in the throws of orgasm and here she was talking to Stella about her pregnancy in the Italian aisle of a supermarket as Stella attempted to look after herself.  
“That’s great.”  
“How’s it going for you? You get yourself a man yet?” She nearly laughed. Why had she ever slept with this woman.  
“No, no. Actually I’m seeing a woman.” Now Stella had done a bad thing. She was only being spiteful and yet the words she’d said felt strange. Felt oddly real. But it wasn’t. She wasn’t seeing Scully. She wouldn’t be seeing her. She wasn’t like that.  
“Oh, well. That’s nice I guess. I hope you find a man soon enough.” Stella shoved the bag of pasta into her basket, a wave of anger invigorating her.  
“Goodbye, Josie.” She said, turning away, her heels clacking against the hard linoleum floor, her grip tightened on the basket, droplets of sweat beading on her palms. 

She looked at the array of food she’d unpacked from her bags. Frozen meals and pasta and rice. Burger patties. Bread. Some vegetables. A bar of chocolate. A couple of bottles of wine. A pack of cheap beer. She felt like a college student in the body of a 30 or 40 something adult woman. She was really trying to get back on her feet, but something was holding her back. She always loved working but since she’d left England the thought of having any sort of real responsibility scared her. For the first time in almost her whole life she felt alone. She felt helpless. She didn’t know what she would do if she even tried to work again, if she wanted to go back to England or stay in the US. She had no reason to leave, there was nothing for her in England. At least here no one really knew her. Stella didn’t like being known. Only a few choice people ever truly got to know Stella.

Wednesday morning and Stella was staring at Scully’s phone number for the thousandth time since she’d left it there. She traced the letters and numbers with her fingertip, as a child would while learning how to write. Dana. She’d never known another woman named Dana. It was a pretty name. When she was little she used to write down the names of all the different people she’d met. She’d stopped doing it when one of her friends had told her it was creepy. She’d always taken people’s opinions to heart until her father died and her mother didn’t care about her anymore. It was then that she realised she was in this world on her own. She looked at the paper once more, the numbers now ingrained in her memory and got up. Scully probably wasn’t even at home. She keyed in the number, balancing the receiver between her cheek and her shoulder. She listened to the beeping of the phone until it cut out and went to voicemail.  
“Hello, this is Dana Scully, I’m unavailable right now but leave a message.” Stella sighed.  
“Hi Dana, it’s me, Stella. I was wondering if you would like to meet up tonight. Call me back when you get this and we can arrange something. You can reach me at 202 563 9083. Bye.” She replaced the receiver but left her hand on it. She had a strange feeling, almost as if she’d forgotten a date or what she were about to say.

As Scully entered her apartment she noticed the red light blinking on her answering machine, she pressed play. The muscles in her shoulders relaxed as she heard Stella’s voice.  
“Hi Dana, it’s me, Stella. I was wondering if you would like to meet up tonight. Call me back when you get this and we can arrange something. You can reach me at 202 563 9083. Bye.” Scully quickly wrote the number down on her notepad. The date was 14th February. Stella must be wanting to take her out for Valentine’s Day. Maybe she did want a relationship with Scully. She wasn’t sure but she knew she really liked Stella and Stella must like her back at least in some way. She’d only been taken out for Valentine’s Day once before. Her mother mailed her Valentine’s Day cards every year, which she hid in a box in the bottom of her wardrobe along with a photo album and birthday cards from her family. She called the number back, on the second ring Stella picked up.  
“Hello?” Stella’s accent made Scully bite her lip, blood rushing to her cheeks.   
“Hi, it’s Dana. You said you wanted to meet up tonight?” Scully curled the phone cable around her finger.  
“Yes, if that’s alright and you aren’t busy?” She smiled and had almost forgotten to breathe.  
“No, no, I’m not busy. Where do you want to meet?”

Stella picked at her cuticles. The bar was quiet, a few small groups of people and couples sat at tables talking loudly about work and making jokes. She felt bare, on her own. Normally she would be flirting, or at least making a little conversation. She wasn’t in the mood. She was just eager to get out of there as soon as possible, have a drink and take Scully home with her.

Scully was a little late but she was neat. Her hair in place and her powder perfect. She carried a medium pink bag. She greeted Stella with a kiss on the cheek, leaving just a shadow of her coral lipstick.  
“Hi.” Stella ushered over the waiter and they made their orders.  
“What’s that?” Stella asked, looking at the bag Scully still had a hand on. She smiled a little and placed the bag on the table.  
“For you.” She pushed it towards Stella who furrowed her brow.   
“Why?” Stella asked, taking the bag.  
“It’s Valentine’s Day. Isn’t that why you asked me to come here?” Stella’s face fell. She knew there was something about today she’d forgotten.  
“Fuck, Dana, I’m sorry. I forgot. I didn’t mean this as a date. I just…”  
“You just wanted to sleep with me.” Scully grabbed the bag, the paper crumpling and ripping, her eyes teared up.  
“Dana.” The word was strained but she cherished it in the way she had the note Scully had left her.  
“Stella, I thought you wanted to do this with me. Properly. I’m not normally a romantic like this but I thought. I thought you really liked me. I really liked you, you make me feel different to how anyone else has ever made me feel.” A single perfect tear ran down Scully’s cheek.  
“I liked you too.” Stella now saw Scully for what she really was. A young woman trying to find her place in the world. She wanted to hold her, kiss her, make sure she was alright. She reminded her of herself when she was that age. Scully shielded her face with her hand, her skin flushed as she suppressed her cries. She didn’t know why she was so upset. She was just tired. That’s what she always said, just tired.  
“Dana.” Stella reached across the table, leaving her hand palm up. Scully took it, and she squeezed her fingers. Stella could feel the scrapes on her skin, what they were from she didn’t know but all she wanted to do was protect her, not let her get hurt.  
“We can try. I can try. I don’t know what I want but you’ve made me feel more in the last few days than I’ve felt in the last year.” Scully looked at her, her eyes wet and shining. Deerlike.  
“Are you sure?”

Stella pushed Scully down, her hand teasing her nipple through her thin lace bra. She left sloppy red kisses on her neck, sucking her pulse point.  
“Fuck, Stella.” She was so ethereally beautiful as she left lipstick smears across her skin, her eyes and hair wild. Scully pushed against her pelvis against Stella, the material of her skirt creating friction between the two of them. Stella unzipped her skirt to find the thin straps of suspenders running up to Scully’s waist.  
“Look at you, all dressed up.” Stella kissed down her chest, her tongue toyed with her belly button piercing, the small piece of metal shining in the lamp light.   
“I wore this for you.” Scully said, her hand touching Stella’s face, she stroked a thumb over her cheekbone, Stella smiled and kissed her stomach.  
“I love it, Dana.” She slipped her fingers under the waistband of Scully’s suspenders, pulling them down carefully. She kissed the inside of her thighs and slid of her black lace panties. She took of her own clothes, letting Scully watch as she did, her hand between her thighs. She pushed Scully down on the bed again and undid her bra, letting her nipples harden under between her lips. She slipped her hand where Scully’s own hand had been just a few seconds ago. She was already slick, wet. She sighed as Stella teased her clit. Stella’s lips brushed against Scully’s, eliciting a moan from her.  
“What do you want?” Stella asked, pushing a finger inside of her. Scully clenched her jaw, gasping at the sensation.  
“Can you… I want to feel you against me.” Stella smiled and took her hand away from Scully’s pussy. She slung her leg over Scully’s and they brought each other together. Scully moaned as Stella began to feel her arousal building. Their wetness mingling. Their eyes met, desperate, searching as they began to peak and Stella grabbed her hand, short nails digging into her skin as Scully came and Stella shortly after. They untangled their legs, seeing stars. Stella crawled next to Scully, kissing her and wrapping her arms around her. She brushed a hair away from her face, an electricity filling her veins aside from her orgasm. She buried her head in Scully’s hair, inhaling her perfume, Scully stroked her back, tracing her vertebrae with her fingers. They held peace between them, in the only form either could find. Peace in the form of love in the arms of another. The warmth of two bodies was all they needed.


End file.
